84 ESSAY ON CLASSIFICATION. 



as that of his own origin, and the origin of all things, 

 And yet, antiquity had no knowledge concerning it : 

 things were formerly believed, either to be from eternity, 

 or to have been created at one time. Modern science, 

 however, can show in the most satisfactory manner that 

 all finite beings have made their appearance successively 

 and at long intervals, and that each kind of organized 

 beings has existed for a definite period of time in past 

 ages, and that those now living are of comparatively 

 recent origin. At the same time, the order of their suc- 

 cession, and their immutability during such cosmic periods, 

 show no casual connexion with physical agents and the 

 known sphere of action of these agents in nature, but 

 argue in favour of repeated interventions on the part of 

 the Creator. It seems really surprising, that, while such 

 an intervention is admitted by all, except the strict ma- 

 terialists, for the establishment of the laws regulating the 

 inorganic world, it is yet denied by so many physicists 

 with reference to the introduction of organized beings at 

 different successive periods. Does this not show the 

 imperfect acquaintance of these investigators with the 

 conditions under which life is manifested, and with the 

 essential difference between the phenomena of the organic 

 and those of the physical world, rather than furnish any 

 evidence that the organic world is the product of physical 

 causes 1 



SECTION XVI. 



RELATIONS BETAVEEN ANIMALS AND PLANTS AND THE 

 SURROUNDING WORLD. 



Every animal and plant stands in certain definite rela- 

 tions to the surrounding world ; some, however, like the 



